Harvard Graduate School of Education will work with the Strategic Education Research Partnership and other partners to complete a program of work designed to a) investigate the predictors of
reading comprehension in
4th - 8th
grade students, in particular the role of
skills at perspective - taking, complex reasoning, and academic language in predicting deep comprehension outcomes, b) track developmental trajectories across the middle
grades in perspective - taking, complex reasoning, academic language
skill, and deep comprehension, c) develop and evaluate curricular and pedagogical approaches designed to promote deep comprehension in the content areas in
4th - 8th
grades, and d) develop and evaluate an intervention program designed for 6th - 8th
grade students
reading at 3rd -
4th grade level.The HGSE team will take responsibility, in collaboration with colleagues at other institutions, for the following components of the proposed work: Instrument development: Pilot data collection using interviews and candidate assessment items, collaboration with DiscoTest colleagues to develop coding of the pilot data so as to produce well - justified learning sequences for perspective - taking, complex reasoning, academic language
skill, and deep comprehension.Curricular development: HGSE investigators Fischer, Selman, Snow, and Uccelli will contribute to the development of a discussion - based curriculum for
4th - 5th graders, and to the expansion of an existing discussion - based curriculum for 6th - 8th graders, with a particular focus on science content (Fischer), social studies content (Selman), and academic language
skills (Snow & Uccelli).
Common Core supporters will point to the rise in
reading scores in 2017 — nearly 3 points in
4th grade, about 4 points in 8th — to argue that teachers are using better materials and have become more
skilled in teaching the new standards.
Large numbers of children who have successfully acquired beginning
reading skills later fall behind in their ability to deal with school
reading tasks — a phenomenon that experienced teachers call the «
4th grade slump.»
At a neighborhood school in Washington, D.C., we watch as teachers infuse global themes into everyday lessons — a kindergarten discussion on community helpers, a 2nd
grade reading class, and
4th grade math and history lessons — to foster the attitudes, knowledge, and
skills of global competence.